PROJECT ON
Hacktivism
Name:Abhishek chatterjee : Dr Vikas a!dhi Re" No:##A$$% *H+ , Huma! Ri"hts
Submitted To &acu't( o)
-atch :.$##/#%
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Abstract
“Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong.” Mahatma Gandhi
Satyagraha was most powerful weapon which was used by the Mahatma Gandhi and many of other revolutionary used this weapon against the British rulers. In modern world internet is became most powerful forum for people to protest against the actions of Government or corruption and against inustice.In November !"#!$ %entral Government amended the section &&'a( of Information )echnology *ct !""# for intern internet et censor censorshi ship. p. *fter *fter reacti reacting ng on action action )elecom lecom Minist Minister er +apilS +apilSiba ibal,s l,s personal website has been hac-ed and defaced allegedly by *nonymous India group for the ministers stand on Information )echnology *ct. /ac-er hac-ed the website of +apilSibal and sent a message that 0+apilSibal is the worlds biggest retard. Born with a below &" I1 he thought he could mess with the Internet and let the elite of his party suppress freedom of speech.0)his research paper analy2e the lega legall vario various us 3ues 3uesti tion on li-e li-e whet whethe herr onli online ne prot protes estt is simi similar lar li-e li-e othe otherr civi civil l disobedience or fall in category of cyber4crime.
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Introduction The foundations of political protest online (what is traditionally understood by the term hacktivism) were laid down by the founding parents of the internet based upon their philosophical and ethical commitment to freedom of speech and their mastery of their technological sphere.1 But the question arise here what is hacktivism? acktivism is the fusion of hacking and activism! politics and technology. "ore specifically# hacktivism is described as hacking for a political cause. $n this conte%t# the term hacker is used in reference to its original meaning. &s defined in the 'ew ackers ictionary# a hacker is *a person who en+oys e%ploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities* and one who is capable of *creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations*., &ctivism is defined as *a policy of taking direct and militant action to achieve a political or social goal*. Therefore# a clinical definition of hacktivism is /a policy of hacking# phreaking or creating technology to achieve a political or social goal.0 The Evolution of Hacktivism
acktivism is a recombinant initiative comprised of two divergent communities (hackers and activists). &ccording to 2%ford ictionary 3hacker4 is a person who uses computers to gain unauthori5ed access to data or informal an enthusiastic and skilful computer programmer or user .6The hacker ethic formulated by 7teven 8evy in his book *ackers eroes of the 9omputer :evolution* outlines the hacker dogmas; 1An overview of the early hacker movement Raymond, E.S. (2002, !A "rief #i$tory of #ackerdom! htt%&''www.cat.org')e$r'writing$'cathedral*a+aar'hacker* hi$tory'ar01$0.html -he later hackermovement % to the %re$ent growth of the /ree ire and %en Sorce movement can e fond at Raymond, E.S. (2000, !-he Revenge of the #acker$! htt%&''www.cat.org')e$r'fa$'hacker*revenge.html -he ethical hacker etho$ i$ al$o flly e3%lored at Raymond, E.S., !#ow to e a #acker! (2001htt%&''www.cat.org')e$r'fa$'hacker*howto.html
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i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi.
&ccess to computers should be unlimited and total. &ll information should be free. "istrust authority < promote decentrali5ation. ackers should be +udged by their hacking not bogus criteria such as degrees# age# race# or position. =ou create art and beauty on a computer. 9omputers can change your life for the better.
>enerally censorship is seen as a human rights violation# especially when it is combined with a repressive# governing regime. $n 1@6# the $ndira >andhi government imposed censorship of Aress. 9hina government also impose censorship on print media# electronic media and internet. 3acktivists4# campaigning against censorship and human rights abuses# primarily used tactics designed only to embarrass or e%ploit an organi5ation or government agency.@ackers mistrust restrictive legislation that encroaches on free access to information and cherished electronic privacy. 8ast year the $ndian government amended the $nformation and Technology &ct , to impose censorship of internet. &ccording to r. 9rush that computer technology misused not by hackers but by governments and its corporation /The wonderful device meant to enrich life has become a weapon which dehumani5es people. To the government and large businesses# people are no more than disk space# and the government doesnt use computers to arrange aid for the poor# but to control nuclear death weapons0.C & acker is not always about information and computer technology but sometimes his actions would be based on the political aspect. $n the *ackers "anifesto* the mentor e%plains /De make use of a service already e%isting without paying for what could be dirt
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acktivism is the technology world4s approach to political activism. Enlike conventional hacking# cyber
Types of acktivism Enderstanding the threat of hacktivism and the types of hacktivist activities can aid in combating the attacks# but it can also be important to understand the types of hacktivism that can occur to understand the origin of the attacks and the motivating behaviour behind them. There are three distinct types of hacktivism political cracking# performativehacktivism# and political coding. The difference between the different types lies within four characteristics tolerance for legal risk# name practices# scale of collective action and propensity for multinational cooperation.1 1. Aolitical 9racking This type of hacktivism involves activities that are illegal and are performed by hacker programmers. & 7amuel state that this type involves the largest number of 10htt%&''corner.advi$en.com'%dfC9le$'DrichC2012Social#acktivi$mC=hite%a%er.% df 11id 12Elinor Fill$, :GE- Gew$, Hld*time hacktivi$t$& Anonyomo$, yo>ve cro$$ed the lineI, (Farch 2012, htt%&''new$.cnet.com'@501*20@0C5*80B?5*28'old* time*hacktivi$t$*anonymo$*yovecro$$ed*the*line' 15htt%&''www.cltdeadcow.com'new$'$tatement1???010.html 18htt%&''www.ale3andra$amel.com'di$$ertation'%df$'Samel*#acktivi$m* entire.%df %. 2 |Page
hacktivist incidents to date# but this does not involve the largest number of participants. The types of tactics used by political cracking include site defacements# redirects# denial of service attacks# information theft# and sabotage.16 Aolitical crackers also tend to work alone or in very small groups when carrying out their attacks.1; espite working with limited support# the impact of the attacks is not +eopardi5ed in any manner. & political cracker can still e%perience a high degree of political efficacy from their attacks such as defacing a website and attracting significant media attention.1@ The first political cracking focused on hacker
meant to describe their hacktivism activities as a performance and using political protest as a /speech act0. This is evident in the background of the hacktivists in this group. Enlike political cracking hacktivists# performativehacktivists come from theatre or art backgrounds and sees performativehacktivism as a new form of political art. Aerformativehacktivists generally focus on issues such as globali5ation# liberation struggles# and corporate power.,1 "any of their actions are performed in groups unlike many of the individual attacks carried out by political hacktivists. & common e%ample is that performative activities are often coordinated so that they are carried out at the same as street protests. "any of their actions involve a transnational coalition of activists even though their websites are assembled by hacktivists in one country who then solicit sit
)he 9lectronic :isturbance )heater !&
The Hlectronic isturbance Theater (HT) was the first performance hacktivist group and remains an influential group in today4s time. This group acted in full force in 1@ when the "e%ican government returned to 9hiapas leaving forty
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The legal risks for political coders vary depending on the type of attacks# but are generally less serious than those of political crackers and nearly the same as performativehacktivists. & 'orwegian teenager who created the e977 software was indicted in 'orway and cannot travel to the Enited 7tates due to fears of being prosecuted there. acktivismo is an $nternet censorship pro+ect sponsored by the cc that has received tremendous media attention. To mitigate legal risk# acktivismo4s Board of irectors includes 9indy 9ohn# the lawyer for the Hlectronic Frontier Foundation.- The founder of acktivismo# 2%blood :uffin# also has his own problems to deal with. e states that traveling to 9hina is not an option due to his past activities.
;ee-abooty
:uffin4s plan was to develop software that countered the $nternet restrictions found in some countries. 7audi &rabia# 9uba# Tunisia# and 9hina all have state
The different types of hacktivists all have unique tools and type of attacks that they use to convey their messages or to cause harm. 7amuel notes that there are at least nine distinct forms that include site defacements# site redirects# denial of service attacks# information theft# information theft and distribution# site parodies# virtual sabotage and software development.-- The different types reflect the different 50htt%$&''www.eJ.org' 51htt%&''www.ale3andra$amel.com'di$$ertation'%df$'Samel*#acktivi$m* entire.%df %. 101 52htt%&''www.theregi$ter.co.k'2001'0'1@'cen$orwareCot9tCtarget$Ccdc$Canon ymity' 55htt%&''www.ale3andra$amel.com'di$$ertation'%df$'Samel*#acktivi$m* entire.%df %. 1 ?|Page
political cultures between each form of hacktivism. enning also notes the use of email bombs by some hacktivists.- 7ite defacements are those acts of hacking websites and replacing the original content with new content that bears a new message. These attacks carried out by hacktivists often contain a political message such as criticism of the organi5ation that is being hacked or some other cause or organi5ation in which the website4s organi5ation is associated with. 7ite defacements remain the most common form of hacktivism. 2ne well
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Iirtual sabotage includes online activities that are designed to manipulate or damage the information technology of the target. 7uch sabotage can occur in the form of viruses and worms that can cause harm by destroying data in the computer system when infiltrated. The first protest to use a worm occurred when antinuclear hackers released a worm into the E.7. 'ational &eronautics and 7pace &dministration4s 7A&' network in 1C ("etacm# ,-). 7cientists that were logging into their computer systems were greeted with a banner from the D&'G worm. John "c"ahon# protocol manager with '&7&4s 7A&' office estimated that the worm cost them up to half a million dollars of wasted time and resources. Iirtual sit&&T# its predecessor organi5ation. The result was that the website replicated the appearance of the DT2 website e%cept the content was produced to be highly critical of the DT2.-C 7oftware development involves creating open source code and distributing it to hackers in carry out specific political purposes. This type of code is free and allows users to modify the code and improve upon it in order to ma%imi5e the effectiveness of potential attacks. Hmail bombs involve sending thousands of email messages at once# usually targeted to government policymakers# with the use of automated software.- The result is that the mailbo% will overflow# making it impossible for the user to accept or perhaps locate legitimate email. Impact of hacktivism on businesses 5
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The growing number of hacktivist acts is causing a concern for many organi5ations. The importance is even greater for professional accountants and $T professionals in assessing the effectiveness of a client4s information systems and controls. This requires an understanding of the impact various attacks can have and the steps to minimi5e any damages such as downtime# theft of data and loss of reputation. "anion and >oodrum states that hacktivism poses a threat at two levels the private industryMintellectual property level and the nationalMgovernment security level. The authors note that the only entities that truly benefit from the $nternet are large transnational business corporations. acktivists often do not wish to cave in or agree with corporate manipulation# thus# prompting attacks on such targets. "any of these corporations are clients of the Big accounting firms. Therefore# auditors will need to be aware of such attacks and ensuring that clients have effective controls in place to allow them to continuously operate. For many businesses# the most significant impact from hacktivism is not the potential downtime from the attacks# but the impact such attacks may have on their reputation (&nderson# ,C). The attacks can quickly gain media attention so that when attacks have minimal impact on the organi5ation# the media coverage creates a more significant problem for the target. &nderson believes that as technology continues to develop# disruption will increase both in volume and impact.1 &lso# hacktivists will continue to use public relations as a ma+or weapon in targeting organi5ations. Dhile site defacement can severely impact an organi5ation4s reputation# it is responsible for the least amount of damages., 7ince site defacement is not very costly# many organi5ations act economically and do not spend very much to prevent such attacks. This approach may make financial sense# but many organi5ations should still develop a contingency plan to outline the steps necessary to quickly reverse such attacks. 2ne of the more devastating attacks is caused by denial of service kits. This poses a ma+or concern for businesses because it can be difficult to counter such attacks. The problem is due to the fact that it is difficult to identify whether the increase in traffic is 80Fanion, F. NOoodrm, A. (2000. -errori$m or civil di$oedience& toward a hacktivi$t ethic. A:F
81Ander$on, . (200@. #acktivi$m and Politically Fotivated :om%ter :rime. Retrieved Lly 1?,200@, from htt%&''www.aracnet.com')kea'Pa%er$'PoliticallyQ20FotivatedQ20:om%ter Q20:rime.%df
82FcAlearney, S. (200@. :S Srvey& /inancial im%act of $ome $ecrity reache$ $kyrocket$. RetrievedLly 1@, 200@, from htt%&''$earch$ecrity.techtarget.com'new$'article'0,2@?182,$id18Cgci110@,00.html
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from hackers or whether they are legitimate.- & prime e%ample can be a new product launch by "icrosoft that is made available on their website. There are many users that are against the monopolistic behaviour of the company and so# may time their attacks during times of increased traffic such as product launches. Case studies Related to Hecktivism Cyber Activist use the internet to promote the Democracy in Burma
The case of Burma raises intriguing questions about the effect of modern computer communications on the balance of power between citi5ens and elected officials# and among local# national# and international power structures and# ultimately# their effect on the conduct of diplomacy in the ,1st century. >eographically dispersed but knitted together by the $nternet# Burmese and non
$n the early 1s# a few Burmese e%iles opposed to the regime in :angoon began communicating on the $nternet via electronic mail. &mong the first was 9obanTun# an e%ile living in 9alifornia who redistributed newspaper reports from Bangkok# Thailand# and other information about Burma on the Esenet system# using an electronic mailing list called seasia
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abuses and the usurpation of democracy in Burma. CBurma'etNmaintained on a computer server run by the $nstitute for >lobal 9ommunications ($>9)# a computer network serving peace and human rights activists. The number of electronic subscribers went from a handful# to -# to 1# to in its second year# until it was impossible to keep track of the real /readership#0 because Burma'et4s reports were posted on the Esenet system and reprinted in paper newsletters.6 &t about the same time Burma'et was ending the international drought on news about Burma and helping both form and inform an international network whose members were dedicated to ending 782:94s rule# related efforts got under way to challenge the regime4s choke
/De use Facebook to schedule the protests# Twitter to coordinate# and =ouTube to tell the world.06,The ; &pril =outh "ovement (&rabic WXUYZ ; OPQRSUV ) is an Hgyptian Facebook group started in 7pring ,C to support the workers in Hl<"ahalla Hl< Gubra# an industrial town# who were planning to strike on ; &pril. &ctivists called on participants to wear black and stay home on the day of the strike. Bloggers and citi5en +ournalists used Facebook# Twitter# Flickr# blogs and other new media tools to report on the strike# alert their networks about police activity# organi5e legal protection and draw attention to their efforts. The 'ew =ork Times has identified the movement as the political Facebook group in Hgypt with the most dynamic debates. &s of "arch ,1,# it had -,6#6- predominantly young and educated members# most of whom had not been politically active before! their core concerns include free 8@ nterview with ;$e of the nternet (Gew Tork& -he /reedom /orm Fedia Stdie$ :enter, 1??8, %. 2 0 -he "rmaGet Gew$, Go. B05, Lanary 5, 1??. -he fll te3t of "rmaGet>$ daily new$re%ort$ are archived at ft%&''Sn$ite.nc.ed'%'academic'%olitical* $cience'freerma'nn'.
1htt%&''ncfm.org'lirary9le$':hildren'GetworkGet=ar'[email protected].%df 2 Anonymo$ :airo activi$t, oted in Gadine a$$em:heiNRaiaFinatllahSohail, H-he Rea$on$ Social Fedia :ontrited to the 2011 Egy%tian Revoltion,I nternational Lornal of "$ine$$ Re$earch and Fanagement 5 (2011& 15?. 18 | P a g e
speech# nepotism in government and the countrys stagnant economy. Their discussion forum on Facebook features intense and heated discussions# and is constantly updated with new postings. 6 The $nternet has been heralded as an effective weapon of the weak and disenfranchised against their authoritarian leaders# resulting in what 'ew =ork Times columnist 'icholas Gristoflabeled the /quintessential ,1st
$n the present age# the legal machinery is geared up to tie the noose around the hackers as they started using their skill for illegal purpose. $n EG# 9omputer "isuse &ct# 1 became law on , &ugust 1. The direct origins of the &ct are found in the 8aw 9ommissions :eport on 9omputer misuse.6C The &ct was formulated with the sole purpose of securing the computer system from the unfounded ambitious intention of the hacker which was showing the criminals the path to misbehave and make money by breaking into the systems of orders and at the same time remaining unnoticed and uncaught by law enforcement agencies. Ender the 1 &ct# the offence of hacking is crystalli5ed into different sections starting from 7ection $ which contain the basic hacking offence and regards /causing a computer to perform any function06
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7ection , $ntent to commit a further offence< This section pre requires commission of an offence under section 1 along with the intent to commit# or facilitate the commission of further offence. 7uch further offence is any other offence for which punishment is fi%ed by law and which may be an offence under any other &ct.
: v. 7trickland and : v. Doods ;# where the defendants were given si%
damage# or cause damage to# or to withhold or deny the use of# a computer# computer service and network# information# data# or program. 7uch transmission is also prohibited if done with reckless disregard of a substantial and un+ustifiable risk of the same effect.;6 $n $ndia# $nformation and Technology &ct# ,# the offence is defined separately defined under 7ection ;;. 7ection ;; is replaced by a new section by $T (&mendment) &ct# ,C (1 of ,). $nstead 7ection (i) and (+) have been inserted in 7ection - of the &ct which reads as follows
-. Aenalty for damage to computer# computer system# etc. ;; < $f any person without permission of the owner or any other person who is incharge of a computer# computer system or computer network#< (a) accesses or secures access to such computer# computer system or computer network! (b) downloads# copies or e%tracts any data# computer data base or information from such computer# computer system or computer network including information or data held or stored in any removable storage medium! (c) introduces or causes to be introduced any computer contaminant or computer virus into any computer# computer system or computer network! (d) damages or causes to be damaged any computer# computer system or computer network# data# computer data base or any other programmes residing in such computer# computer system or computer network! (e) disrupts or causes disruption of any computer# computer system or computer network! (f) denies or causes the denial of access to any person authorised to access any computer# computer system or computer network by any means! (g) provides any assistance to any person to facilitate access to a computer# computer system or computer network in contravention of the provisions of this &ct# rules or regulations made thereunder! (h) charges the services availed of by a person to the account of another person by tampering with or manipulating any computer# computer system# or computer network# he shall be liable to pay damages by way of compensation not e%ceeding Bid, S. 1050 (a(( BB -he nformation -echnology Act 2000 1 | P a g e
one crore rupees to the person so affected. H%planation.< For the purposes of this section#< (i) computer contaminant means any set of computer instructions that are designed< (a) to modify# destroy# record# transmit data or programme residing within a computer# computer system or computer network! or (b) by any means to usurp the normal operation of the computer# computer system# or computer network! (ii) computer data base means a representation of information# knowledge# facts# concepts or instructions in te%t# image# audio# video that are being prepared or have been prepared in a formalised manner or have been produced by a computer# computer ystem or computer network and are intended for use in a computer# computer system or computer network! (iii) computer virus means any computer instruction# information# data or programme that destroys# damages# degrades or adversely affects the performance of a computer resource or attaches itself to another computer resource and operates wh n a programme# data or instruction is e%ecuted or some other event takes place in that computer resource! (iv) damage means to destroy# alter# delete# add# modify or rearrange any computer resource by any means. ;;. acking with computer system.<;@ (1) Dhoever with the intent to cause or knowing that he is likely to cause wrongful loss or damage to the public or any person destroys or deletes or alters any information residing in a computer resource or diminishes is value or utility or affects it in+uriously by any means# commits hacking. (,) Dhoever commits hacking shall be punished with imprisonment up to three years# or with fine which may e%tend up to two lakh rupees# or with both.
Thus the offence of hacking is# through by name# not there in the statement book but it has been qualified with the necessary mental elements. 7ection ;; and - read along with 7ection , and ,6 of $ndian Aenal 9ode.
B-he nformation -echnology Act 2000 1@ | P a g e
7ection ,< /ishonestly0< Dhoever does anything with the intention of causing wrongful gain to one person or wrongful loss to another person# is said to do that thing *dishonestly*. ;C
7ection ,6< * Fraudulently*< & person is said to do a thing fraudulently if he does that thing with intent to defraud but not otherwise.; Basically reason behind read these sections with $T &ct that offence is committed mensrea and actusreaus important element of crime. The offence is constituted when you are causing wrongful loss or damage to the public or any person. 'nline protest and Defamation
& defamatory statement is one which tends to lower the reputation of a person in the view of right minded people# or leads the claimant to be shunned or avoided. @ $t is a tort and therefore a civil wrong. There are main two types of defamation slander (non
B@ndian Penal :ode 1@B0 B?ndian Penal :ode 1@B0 0Sim v. Stretch (1?5B 2 -R BB? 1Section 1 of the
The courts in the Enited Gingdom are aware of this potential and have historically handed down +udgements re+ecting the right of an individual to bring an action for defamation in order to protect free speech in the public interest litigation.@
There have been many defamation actions brought due to comments placed on the internet< on media such as message boards# blogs# emails @6 and social networking sites# including Facebook and Twitter.
$n 7mith v. &IF' Alc@; 9ourt decides the question that Dhether an individual is record his voice and then publish on internet. "r Justice Hadyconsidered that these types of posting were similar to heated debate in bar! people add their comments moment. Based on this# his view was this type of posting should be the sub+ect of an action in slander# rather than libel.@@ 2ne of the core facets of the $nternet is that to a very large degree people can be anonymous# either by hiding behind pseudonyms or using a false name. This is an obvious problem when considering defamation as it seems to allow an individual to post a defamatory comment on a blog or a message board# without the law being able to reach them as their identity is hidden. The rights of individual to retain anonymity while writing offensive or defamatory comments and the action potentially defamed people may take to rectify the situation was considered by the igh 9ourt decision in 7heffield Dednesday Football 9lub 8imited et al v. 'eil argreves. @C The 5-hi$ ca$e$ follow$ a long hi$tory of the common law allowing action$ to e roght for each lielo$ %lication. See& <ke of "rn$wick v. #armer (1@8? 18 V" 1@ and "ere+ov$ky v. Fichael$ (2000 =R 2008 8See, for in$tance $ concl$ion wa$ that logging cold form the legitimate a$i$ of liel claim. Eally, the ca$e of Oodfrey v.
9ourt follows the principal which was established in the case of 'orwich Aharmacal v. 9ustom ^ H%ercise 9ommissioner @ and was e%plained by 8ord :eid as /[..if through no fault of his own a person gets mi%ed up in the tortuous acts of other so as to facilitate their wrongdoing# he may incur no personal liability but he comes under a duty to assist the person who has been wronged by giving him information and disclosing the identity of the wrongdoers[[+ustice requires that he should operate co
The role of the $nternet 7ervice Arovider
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The position of an $nternet 7ervice Aroviders ($7A) in defamation actions is of great interest.C- $n >odfrey v. emon $nternet 8imitedC 9ourt held that the $nternet 7ervice Arovider defence is quite limited once an $7A has been published contains potentially defamatory material. &fter that $7A will be liable. $n Bunt v. Tiley and othersC6 in which the $7A was held to have no actual knowledge of the posting and had merely passive role in facilitating the posting (they were accused only of providing the required connection to the internet)# therefore they could avail themselves of this defence. The key issue is whether the $7A had any knowing involvement in the alleged defamatory posting.C; Damage and abuse of process
The principal was evolved in the case of John v. ">' 8td. C@ where the court unambiguously stated that the level of damages will not be higher simply because an article placed online. & key factor will be the number of 3hits4 the article has# which in many cases will be technically easier to ascertain than a traditional newspaper. Hqually# in "ichael Geith<7mith v. Tracy Dilliams CCthe court awarded damages for defamatory and offensive posting made by "s Dilliams against "r Geith on an internet discussion group called 3$n the ole4. 9ourt awarded the damages to "r Geith. &opa ( )iracy 72A& or the 7top 2nline Airacy &ct was a controversial piece of proposed legislation that would allow the E7 government to censor the internet. acktivists &nd ma+or sites like Dikipedia#google#yahoo etc collaborated and were instrumental in preventing this bill to be passed.C @5An SP i$ de9ned in Article 2( of the E*:ommerce
"any e%perts have argued that privacy is actually beneficial for both consumers and promotes competition in the market. "ost "usic cds#dvds#games etc are e%tremely e%pensive for people in developing countries or third world countries# also for poorer people everywhere. on4t they also have a right to leisure and entertainment? H%perts have also argued that piracy doesn4t lead to loss in profit# they (corporations) still make a lot of profit. Conclusion ow then to people the limitations to free speech online? $t would seem that the current rights regime cannot do it unless the notion of how and when the human is the sub+ect of rights is radically rethought or perhaps more accurately the nature of online personlobal 'etwork $nitiative serves as a helpful e%ample to encourage good practice by corporations. <hough only three corporations# namely >oogle# "icrosoft# and =ahoo`# have participated in this initiative so far# the 7pecial :apporteur welcomes their commitment to undertake a human rights impact assessment of their decisions# including before entering a foreign market# and to ensure transparency and accountability when confronted with situations that may undermine the rights to freedom of e%pression and privacy... C. "ore generally# the 7pecial :apporteur encourages corporations to establish clear and unambiguous terms of service in line with international human rights norms and principles# increase transparency of and accountability for their activities# and continuously review the impact of their services and technologies on the right to freedom of e%pression of their users# as well as on the potential pitfalls involved when they are misused.41
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?1a Re re%ort (A'#R:'1'2 %ara 8B and 8@ 25 | P a g e
Esers can be educated to enhance their understanding of the right to free speech afforded to them and how to use it in a legally acceptable manner. 7paces can also be created where users can set the agenda for protest and information dissemination# for this to be functional and draw impetus away from other forms of protest these would need to be truly open spaces where all forms of protest speech which could fall within the scope of political e%pression even if they are against the current government or could if untrue be construed as defamation (one of the reasons $7As are cautious about hosting protest cites is the fear of defamation actions the :apporteur has already commented on the importance of not using $7A7 as censorship tools or holding them for failing to prevent illegal content.)
Entil something is done however# it does seem somewhat anomalous that a sphere of human activity created entirely by speech acts# has a greatly impaired protection for free speech.
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